Willian has admitted that former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was a difficult man to work with. The Italian was dismissed few days into pre-season and replaced by Sarri.

The Brazilian has high hopes for Sarri’s reign at the club but disclosed that there were times he struggled to understand Conte’s decisions.

Willian appeared to not be Conte’s preferred choice as he spent the majority of the 2017/18 season coming on as a substitute.

In a chat with ESPN Brazil, Willian said:

‘I hope he (Sarri) is not like Conte,’

‘No, I’m kidding. For me, Conte was a manager who was very difficult to work with. His philosophy, his way of dealing with things is very complicated.

‘There were a few games, Sometimes we just don’t understand. You’re playing very well, then you get substituted. I do not understand.

‘There were two times when I got substituted and I went straight to the locker room. It was hard to work with him.

‘The important thing now is to talk about Sarri. From what I heard, I am sure he is a great manager, who does a great job with the team. I have high expectations for working with him.’

Willian returned late to pre-season and played under Sarri for the first time in the Community Shield game against Man City.

It was a game that Sarri would hope to forget quickly as the debut ended in a 2 nil loss to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.